CADILLY AND ST. JAMES'S SQUARE 37

PART III

THE STRAND 67

INDEX 112

_Map at end of Volume._

THE STRAND DISTRICT

PART I

WEST AND NORTH OF CHARING CROSS

Beginning at the extreme westerly limit of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields,
on the south side of Hyde Park Corner, we find ourselves in the Green
Park. This is a triangular piece of ground, which was formerly called
Little or Upper St. James's Park. It has not much history. In 1642
fortifications were erected on Constitution Hill, and at the end of the
seventeenth century this same spot was a noted place for duels.
Fireworks on a great scale, with public entertainments, took place in
the park at the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, and again in 1814. On
Constitution Hill three attempts were made on the life of Queen
Victoria. The chief object of interest in the park is Buckingham Palace,
which is not altogether in St. Martin's; in fact, the greater part,
including most of the grounds, is in the adjacent parish of St.
George's, Hanover Square. The palace is a dreary building, without any
pretence of architectural merit, but it attracts attention as the London
home of the English Sovereign.

It stands on the site of Arlington House, so called from its connection
with Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington (the Earl whose initial supplied
one of the _a's_ in the word "Cabal"). John Sheffield, Duke of
Buckingham, bought the house and rebuilt it in 1703, naming it after
himself, and including in the grounds part of the land belonging to Tart
Hall, which stood at the head of St. James's Street, and has been
mentioned in the account of the adjoining parish of St. Margaret's,
Westminster. Buckingham House was bought from Sir Charles Sheffield, son
of the above-mentioned Duke, by the Crown in 1762. In 1775 it was
granted to Queen Charlotte as a place of residence in lieu of Somerset
House, and at this period it was known as Queen's House. George IV.
employed Nash to renovate the building, and the restoration was so
complete as to amount to an entire rebuilding, in the style considered
then fashionable; the result is the present dreary building with
stuccoed frontage. The interior is handsome enough, and, like that of
many a London house of less importance, is considerably more cheerful
than the exterior. The